KAP STEEL LTD Vs. KARNATAKA ELECTRICITY BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In these three writ petitions, the petitioners have questioned the legality of the demand made by the respondent - Karnataka Electricity Board ('the Board' for short) of certain amounts as commitment charges.

(2.) The facts of the case, in brief, are these : (i) In W. P. No. 10544 of 1980 : This petitioner-company was promoted by one of the partners of the firm Ramchand Jagdishchand, with the object of establishing a mini steel plant at Whitefield near Bangalore. He applied to the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board for allotment of requisite land for constructing the factory at Whitefield in the year 1973. Simultaneously, he applied to the Karnataka Electricity Board for sanction of high tension electric power required for the steel plant and informing the Board that they may be requiring the power supply from about November or December, 1984. The Electricity Board gave sanction of 6000 KW of electric power by communication dated 30-1-1974 (Annexure-B). The relevant portion of the communication reads :

(3.) In all the three cases it is averred by the Board that each of the petitioners had given undertaking to pay the commitment charges. A copy of such undertaking given by the petitioner in W.P. No. 179 of 1981 is produced. It reads